1 0 2 G O LF M A G A ZI N E O C TO B E R 2 0 05 G O LFO N LI N E .CO M

1 S tand with your

weight balanced in th e

middle of your feet, and

tilt fo rw a rd so your arm s

hang straight down, palms

facing, with a slight elbow

flex. This is the ideal

putting posture .

2Recall this posture as

you address a ball. Yo u r

e yes should be directly ove r

the ball. Have someone

m e a s u re a line from the to p

of your left wrist to the ball

( w h e re your eyes hit th e

ground). That is your

c o rrect putter length

3Check the lie angle of your putter befo re

you buy. The sole shouldbe flush to the ground. Ifthe toe of the putter ispointing up off th eground it isn’t a good fi t .

A B O U T 80 percent of the students in my schools play with ill-fitted putters. The vast

m ajority use putters that are too long and fo rce them to stand too tall at address or with

their arms jammed up into their bodies. Either way, the end result is a bad stro ke.

When you buy a putter make sure it fits you so you don’t comp romise your stro ke .

H e re’s how to make certain your putter fits.

Th ree buying t i p s● The standard length ofa men’s putter taken offthe rack is 35 inches.That’s too long. On average, 331/2 inches is about right. ● Your height is not the main determinant inputter fitting. StuartAppleby (6’1”) and JustinLeonard (5’9”) both use33-inch putters. It’s acombination of armlength, torso size andl e g s .● Once you determineyour ideal putter length,make sure you find amodel that has markingsand a design that helpyou with alignment. Tryout several differentstyles to find the one youlike best.

D o n ’ t cut it s h o r t● If it’s occurred to youthat your putter will fit better if you just snip afew inches off the top ofthe shaft, don’t do it. Ifyou do you’ll alter theclub’s swing weight, andthat changes the feel andperformance of the putter head. Bottom line:it’s not a good idea.

Eye sd i re c t lyove rthe ball

This gap meansthe lie is wro n g.

●

H OW TO SETYOUR TA RG E TNUMBER OF PUTT S● Regardless of your handi-cap, you can shoot par on thegreens. If you don’t already doso, start tracking your total puttsper round. Then look at thechart below for your personalputting par, based on yourhandicap. Make it your goal tomatch this target number andyou’ll see lower numbers onyour card.

P E RS O N A LH A N D I C A P P UTTING PA R30 and over 36 putts

p e r r o u n d2 0 - 2 9 34 per r o u n d

10 - 19 32 per r o u n d0 - 9 30 per r o u n d